If there ever was a gun company to watch these days it is Smith & Wesson. Not just because they will begin shipping their new 1000 Series shotguns, which may make upland hunters happy, but because S&W is blowing away Wall Street, according to Business Week. Business Week ranked S&W 77th out of 100 Hot Growth Companies. Yes a gun company running with the bulls. S&W is evidently discovering marketing and branding strategies and is licensing everything from bicycles to watches to wood smokers. Can you say, “branding?” And they are offering new products. New products will clean out the fouled bores of the gun industry and incite new consumers. Of course there is also the danger over branding and diminishing the brand’s cache. But for the time being, net product sales increased 48.8% and firearm sales increased more than 50% in fiscal 2007. In the fourth quarter, sales were a record $82.6 million, almost a 60% increase from the same period last year. It was also their tenth consecutive quarter of double-digit sales growth. Wall Street thinks S&W is hitting the bulls eye. Oh yeah, about the 1000 Series. For upland hunting as well as hunting from a duck blind or waiting for a tom, the 1000 Series incorporates features a you’d expect on the a high-end shotgun like a chrome-lined barrel, five choke tubes, and a four-piece shim kit to adjust the stock. We haven’t had the opportunity to exercise a new 1000 Series, but look for an update in months to come. Did I mention they have a line of double guns, too?